Insights into Life Through Yoga and Meditation

One of the most common sleep issues is Stage 1 of the sleep cycle: Drowsiness and falling asleep. Indeed, for many people, especially those suffering from stress, those who lie in bed worrying, perhaps about an exam or getting up to go on a trip or worrying about an illness, an injury, or something that was on the news, falling asleep can be a huge challenge. It can also be a challenge for many who are awakened at night, from a snoring mate, a crying child, a nocturnal visit to the bathroom, or a disturbing dream, anything that makes falling back asleep difficult.

In this presentation I’ll show you how to use specific techniques derived from yoga positions, yoga breathing and meditation to both fall asleep and return to sleep. After all, if you can’t get to Stage 1 of falling asleep, the rest of sleep is going to elude you. In addition, taking too long to finish Stage 1 deprives you of the value of the rest of the sleep stages, especially those that restore your body and restore your mind.

Meditation – How to Fall Asleep

Link to this video: http://www.secretstomeditation.com/meditation-how-to-fall-asleep

In this second video in the series, I teach what is happening when we sleep, and how both the brain and the body react to sleep. I also explain the different stages of sleep: drowsiness and falling asleep, the two light sleep stages, deep sleep, and finally, REM sleep (where most dreaming occurs). I explain how each cycle takes an average of 90 minutes to complete before starting all over again.

In addition, I teach how meditation is like sleep, and how it is different from sleep. My conclusion offers insight into some philosophical teachings about sleep and wakefulness, which puts a perspective on the importance of good sleeping. In short, you will understand the stages of sleep, the cycles of sleep, and why it is so beneficial to improve your sleep and how meditation can improve sleep.

Meditation – The Sleep Cycle

Link to this video:http://www.secretstomeditation.com/meditation-the-sleep-cycle

In this first video of the series, I put sleep into perspective, showing how sleep is one of the essential components of life itself. I explain how sleep constitutes a third of all the time an adult spends living, and how essential sleep is to both physical and emotional health. I also explain its impact on the brain, the body, including the immune system, the cardiovascular system, and appetite, and how it fosters creativity, positive relationships and the like.

Putting sleep into perspective helps you appreciate its importance and why yoga, meditation and breathing can improve your life.

Meditation – The Importance of Sleep

Link to this video:http://www.secretstomeditation.com/meditation-the-importance-of-sleep

One of the greatest benefits of meditation is how it reduces stress. To much stress can suppress the immune system, reduce memory and lead to weight gain and depression. In this video, Larry explains how your brain handles stress, and how learning to meditate can help calm your midbrain, reduce stress and generate creative solutions to the problems in your life.

The second part of Larry’s explanation of how the brain works. The focus is on how the cortex – the information processing part of the brain – works with the midbrain or the emotional part of the brain. Often the two parts of the brain are not working together. By learning how to meditate we can calm the midbrain allowing it to pass less judgement on the analytical part of your brain. Meditation helps these two parts of the brain work in tandem which is being proven to offer powerful benefits.